In Albuquerque, N.M., pro-life activists are trying a new strategy: Banning late-term abortions within the city limits, instead of trying for a statewide ban. Over three weeks this summer, local pro-lifers collected 27,000 signatures — 15,000 more than were needed — to place a measure that would ban abortions after 20 weeks on a city ballot on November 19.

“We thought it was a stroke of genius for a couple of reasons: If we ever get it passed, then we restrict late-term abortions,” says Stephen Imbarrato, a Catholic priest who serves as president of Project Defending Life, a New Mexico–based pro-life group. But even if the ordinance doesn’t pass, Imbarrato believes it could help educate people about the horrors of late-term abortions: “Even if these initiatives come to naught . . . the education value, the informational value, the public-relations value, you can’t put a dollar amount on it.”